Fuel Filter Diverter

ABSTRACT

A fuel filter assembly includes a housing having an end supporting a first tube. The housing defines a cavity that is enclosed by a cover opposite the end. A diverter is arranged within the cavity and includes first and second sides with the first side adjacent to the housing end. The diverter includes a wall on the first side in sealing engagement with either the first tube or the housing end. The diverter is constructed from a first material forming a base and a second material supported by the first material defining at least a portion of the first side. The second material may be overmolded onto the first material. Preferably, the first material is a plastic and the second material is an elastomer forming a gasket suitable for providing a seal between the diverter and the housing. One end of the filter media is embedded in the adhesive on the second side of the diverter.

This application is a divisional of pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/634,383, filed Aug. 5, 2003, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a filter assembly, and more particularly, to afuel filter diverter for use with a pleated paper filter element.

Fluid filters such as fuel filters incorporate a filter media such as apleated paper element to remove particulates from the fluid. The filtermedia has an inlet side and an outlet side that must be sealed from oneanother to ensure that the fluid passes through the filter media. Tothis end, opposing ends of the filter media may be secured to an end capand a filter housing cover by embedding the ends of the filter media inan adhesive arranged on the end cap and cover. The cover is mechanicallysecured to a housing case to seal the filter media within the housing.

In one type of fuel filter commonly referred to as a three port filter,three tubes are in fluid communication with the filter housing. For thistype of configuration, a diverter is used between the end cap supportingthe filter media and the housing to direct the flow of fluid in adesired flow path. Specifically, an O-ring is arranged between thediverter and the end cap to seal the inlet side from the outlet side ofthe filter media. Another O-ring is supported on the opposite side ofthe diverter to create a seal between the diverter and one of the tubes.The diverter includes a hole to fluidly connect the tube with one sideof the filter media.

As may be appreciated from the above discussion, prior art three portfuel filter arrangements utilize numerous components for directing theflow of fluid and providing seals to separate the inlet and outlet sideof the filter media. Therefore, what is needed is an improved filterassembly requiring fewer parts and less assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a fuel filter assembly including ahousing having an end. The housing defines a cavity that is enclosed bya cover opposite the end. The filter assembly may be a three port fuelfilter having three tubes with a first tube supported by the end of thehousing. In one example, an end portion of the first tube extends intoand is in fluid communication with the cavity. A diverter is arrangedwithin the cavity and includes first and second sides with the firstside adjacent to the end. The diverter includes an aperture in the firstside defined by a wall arranged proximate to the first tube. The wall isin sealing engagement with either the first tube or the housing end. Inone example, the aperture is in fluid communication with the second sideto permit fluid flow from the first tube.

The diverter is constructed from a first material forming a base and asecond material supported by the first material defining at least aportion of the first side. Preferably, the first material is a plasticand the second material is an elastomer forming a gasket suitable forproviding a seal between the diverter and the housing. In one example,the gasket may be overmolded onto the plastic diverter base. One end ofthe filter media is embedded in the adhesive on the second side of thediverter. In this example, the diverter provides a seal about the firsttube and with the filter media to seal the inlet and outlet sides of thefilter media from one another.

Accordingly, the above invention provides an improved filter assemblyrequiring fewer parts and less assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by referenceto the following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of an example fluid filter assembly designedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the example diverter assembly fromFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the diverter assembly shown in FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom side perspective view of the diverter assembly shownin FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom side perspective view of the diverter assembly shownin FIG. 4 with the filter media and cover installed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A filter assembly 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in cross-section. The exampleassembly 10 includes a housing 12 that may include a case 14 having acover 16 secured thereto using any suitable attachment method. Theassembly 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a three port fuel filter configuration,although one of ordinary skilled in the art will appreciate that thisinvention is applicable to other arrangements.

An inlet tube 18 is secured to an end 15 of the housing 12, and a returntube 22 is secured to the end 15 spaced from the inlet tube 18. Anoutlet tube 20 is secured to the cover 16 opposite the inlet 18 andreturn 22 tubes. Fluid may flow through the assembly 10 in a mannerother than that schematically shown in FIG. 1.

The tubes 18, 20, 22 may be secured to the housing 18 in any suitablemanner such as by using support washers 26 and braze rings 28 tomechanically attach the tubes to the housing, as is known in the art.The tubes 18, 20, 22 include beads 24 used to facilitate retention ofhoses installed onto the tubes, as is well known in the art.

The housing 12 defines a cavity 30 with a filter media 32 arranged inthe cavity 30. One type of filter media that may be used is a pleatedpaper element, which is well known in the art. The filter media 32includes an inlet side 34 and an outlet side 36, which in theconfiguration shown are respectively the outer and inner circumferenceof the filter media 32. The flow may be reversed from the flow indicatedin FIG. 1.

The filter media 32 must be sealed within the housing 12 in such amanner so as to ensure that the fluid passes from the inlet side 34 tothe outlet side 36 without circumventing the filter media 32 so thatparticulates are removed from the fluid. To this end, one end 38 of thefilter media 32 is secured to the cover using an adhesive 40 such asplastisol. A diverter 42 includes opposing first 44 and second 46 sideswith an opposing end 48 of the filter media 32 secured to the secondside 46 using adhesive 40. In this manner, the filter media 32 is sealedbetween the diverter 42 and the cover 16 preventing fluid fromcircumventing the filter media 32.

In the illustrated example, a center tube 50 extends from the secondside 46 into a central opening 52 defined by the filter media 32. Thecenter tube 50 provides structural support for the pleated paper elementto maintain the shape of the filter media 32 and prevent it fromcollapsing under the flow of fluid. For example, the center tube 50 mayinclude several axially spaced rings 49 connected to one another by legs51, best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. However, it should be understood thatthe present invention diverter 42 may not necessarily include a centertube or may include a center tube of a different configuration.

A seal is also be created between the diverter 42 and the housing 12 toensure that fluid from the outlet side 36, which corresponds to thecentral opening 52 of the configuration shown, flows to the return tube22 preventing the fluid from the inlet 34 and the outlet 36 sides fromintermixing. The example diverter 42 includes a base 54 constructed froma first material such as plastic. A second material such as an elastomeris supported on the base to provide a gasket 56. In one example, thesecond material may be overmolded onto the diverter base. One type ofsuitable plastic may be a nylon 66, and one type of suitable elastomermay be VITON. Of course, any suitable material may be used that ischemically resistant to the fluid in which the diverter is immersed.Furthermore, the materials are selected to provide materialcompatibility during the molding process. That is, the melt temperatureof the over-molded material should not exceed the melt temperature ofthe material that is molded first. Moreover, it should be understoodthat processes other than over-molding may be utilized to manufacture adiverter designed according to this invention. Additionally, the basemay be molded onto the gasket.

The gasket 56 creates a seal between the diverter 42 and the end 15 ofthe housing 12. The gasket 56 at least partially defines the first side44. For example, a cylindrical wall 60 may be arranged about an endportion of the return tube 22 to define an aperture 58 and create a sealbetween the return tube 22 and one side of the filter, which in thiscase is the outlet side. More specifically, the cylindrical wall 60includes an edge 62 that is in abutment with the inner surface of theend 15 when the diverter 42 is installed into the case 14. A hole 64extends between the first 44 and second 46 sides to provide fluidcommunication between the return tube 22 and the outlet side 36 of thefilter media 32.

In the illustrated example, a side wall 66 is arranged opposite thecylindrical wall 60 on the first side 44. The side wall 66 may beconstructed from the gasket material 56 and ensures a desired alignmentof the diverter 42 with respect to the housing 12 during assembly bycompressing in a similar manner to that of the cylindrical wall 60.However, it should be understood that the side wall 66 may be of adifferent configuration than shown or eliminated entirely.

The example diverter includes a central wall 68 having arcuate segmentsand is arranged between the cylindrical wall 60 and the side wall 66 toprovide additional support for the diverter 42 against the housing 12.The illustrated central wall 68 and side wall 66 may provide supportedges 70 that ensure that the end of the inlet tube 18 within thehousing 12 is not blocked by the diverter 42. The central wall 68 may beof a different configuration than shown or eliminated entirely.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

1. A method of manufacturing a fluid filter assembly comprising thesteps of: a) providing a diverter base having a passageway; b) securinga gasket onto the diverter base to form a diverter; c) adhesivelysecuring a filter media onto the diverter base.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein step b) is performed subsequent to step a).
 3. Themethod according to claim 2, wherein step b) includes molding the gasketonto the diverter base.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furtherincluding steps of applying the adhesive onto a cover, and embedding thefilter media into the adhesive on the cover.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, further including the step of installing the diverter from stepb) into a housing with the gasket engaging the housing.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the housing includes a tube in fluidcommunication with the passageway with at least a portion of the gasketmaterial disposed about the tube.